Rulon Gardner, who promised to leave his shoes on the mat in the wrestler's traditional show of retirement if he lost, won a pair of tight 2-1 overtime decisions over top-seeded Dremiel Byers to gain the return trip to the Olympics that once seemed a long shot. Also, four-time NCAA champion Cael Sanderson also qualifed for trip to Athens.

The USA's big airlines are losing their last haven of high profits. For most of the last 25 years, no matter how intense the price competition on other routes, giants like American and United could charge high fares and extract large profits from their showcase transcontinental routes. But no more.